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A Peek into a Colombian Kitchen

After having been in many different Colombian homes, and specifically, Colombian kitchens, it has come to my attention that nearly all kitchens here have a few staples, so I’m going to share with you the ones I have consistently noticed.

Number 1, a blender. In Spanish, liquadora. Juice is served with every meal in Colombia, most of the time homemade (or sometimes from concentrate), and in order to make juice, a blender is needed.

Number 2, a pitcher in which to put the juice. Probably multiple pitchers will be found in most homes, and at least a few will always be filled with juice, typically maracuya, mora, limonada, fresa, or mango, among others.

Number 3, a bowl filled with fruit, either to eat or with which to make juice. The ones I see are usually made of metal, wood, or glass, and fruits often found here are guanabana, apples, oranges, papayas, mangos, passion fruit, and avocados.

Number 4, limes and a lime squeezer. Limes are often served with meals in Colombia, to put on soups, salads, fish, avocado, or anything else. If you look into most Colombian refrigerators, you will be sure to spot limes.

Number 5, a wooden hot chocolate stirrer (Spanish: Molinillo) and metal pitcher (Spanish: Olleta). This is true for most cities, although not all. Here, hot chocolate is rarely made from a powder as is common in the States. In Colombia, you buy bars of chocolate specifically for this purpose, heat up milk in a metal pitcher on the stove, put the chocolate in, and stir.

Number 6, a plastic container for bags of milk and yogurt. In Colombia, milk is not packaged in plastic jugs or cartons, but rather bags and occasionally boxes (but bags are much more common). So that the bag does not spill, you put it in these little containers with a handle.

Another interesting aspect of most Colombian homes is that the kitchen nearly always has a door, as well as maids’ quarters at the back of the kitchen. The general architecture is: kitchen, laundry room, small bedroom, and a bathroom area. Almost every Colombian household (above a certain social stratus) employs an empleada, or a housekeeper, and sometimes she lives with the family.

9 thoughts on “A Peek into a Colombian Kitchen”

Nice post and quite accurate. :-) blender is a must! so many different fruits to choose from… There is probably one thing missing from the list and that is a pressure cooker… most Colombian households would have one to cook red kidney beans, lentils and the like.

Hi Kate, lol yes, right, Im in Europe and I have all that except the plastic container, I guess is my colombian background. Many people don´t have a licuadore here, but I have a huge one, and of course, juices and lemons in my fridge. Spot on. :)

I know, I forgot about the pressure cooker, and I was going to list the parilla (I have one and use it all the time) but I didn’t know if it was used widely enough in Colombia. Thanks for your comment and for reading!

I have a question for you all.. my mother-in-law (to be) is from Colombia and needs a new pressure cooker, she said she bought a new one here in America but that it doesn’t work as well as the ones available in Colombia – could anyone recommend a brand to me? Her birthday is in a few weeks and I’d love to buy one for her :-)